De La Panza - review

Jonathan Meades, once the much-feared restaurant critic of The Times, was staying with us having come from France, where he now lives, to take part in The Big Debate at the London Restaurant Festival. Both he and I had been fans of the Argentinian restaurant Santa Maria del Buen Ayre (as it was then called) in Broadway Market, so when I said that Gaston Carrano who used to work there was now front-of-house at the recently opened De La Panza in De Beauvoir Town he was keen to be the "companion".

Meaning "all about the belly" De La Panza is apparently modelled on the sort of bodegón that you might find in Buenos Aires. On its website there are two described that sound wonderful. Sadly, de La Panza doesn't fit that description. The seductive scent of meat roasting over coals was absent as the parrilla (grill) is tucked away in the kitchen. Fish soup, pisto manchego (a sort of drab ratatouille) and empanadas were only serviceable.

The steaks had that quality that appeals to me of not needing to brag in a macho way about weeks of hanging, but accompaniments, particularly the grilled "verduras", which featured scorched giant Brussels sprouts, were a letdown.

If you live in the locale - de beaver I am told it is pronounced - De La Panza could be useful for the tapas and "minutas" menu of the bar area and the reasonably priced wines.